Growth Hormone Deficiency and Celiac Disease

This category contains summaries of research articles that deal with growth hormone deficiency and it's association with celiac disease. Most of the articles are research summaries that include the original source of the summary.

Research has suggested potential autoimmune involvement of the pituitary gland in patients with celiac disease, but such activity has only been shown in only a few patients on gluten-free diet. A research team recently set out to assess the prevalence and clinical meaning of anti-pituitary antibodies (APA) in children and adolescents with the newly diagnosed celiac disease.

Highly sensitive and specific serological tests have led to the diagnosis of celiac disease in patients for whom short stature may be the only obvious symptom. After eliminating endocrine disorders as cause, researchers in India recently found that 27 of 176 (15%) children referred for short stature had celiac disease. Celiac disease can lead to short stature through a number of mechanisms, such as malabsorption of nutrients, resistance to growth hormones, autoimmune hypothydroidism, and hypogonadism. The researchers recommend that all short children be screened for celiac disease.